Supernatural's Mark Sheppard says writers 'ran out of what to do' with Crowley

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It's hard to keep the King of Hell down. Supernatural vet Mark Sheppard took the stage at New York Comic Con Friday for a solo panel, basking in the glory of his memorable stint as lord of the underworld on the long-running CW series.

Sheppard played the charming demon Crowley on and off for eight seasons before he was killed in the Season 12 finale in May 2017. The character, who had a love-hate relationship with Sam and Dean Winchester over the years, sacrificed himself to help the boys in their battle with Lucifer. And while he has fond memories of the stint, he was frustrated with how it ended. "Once they decided they needed to do something different [with the direction of the show], they tried to get rid of me without telling me that they were going to get rid of me," Sheppard said. "But it became so apparent… It wasn't this big bombshell at the end."

He called Crowley's demise "the slowest, most painful death I've ever seen. I'd gone from being the smartest character on the show to being the dumbest character on the show in two seasons. They ran out of what to do."

Asked by a fan if he would ever return to the show as a guest star, he quickly replied, "Why? I've done what I've done. I did good. I have new things to do. For God's sake, face it, I'm dead! Wakey, wakey, they tried to kill me off for two years!"

The 54-year-old Brit walked around the room for the informal panel (which did not have a moderator) and had fun mercilessly (and somehow still lovingly) teasing members of the audience while answering questions about his career, his interests, and life in general. His extensive resume includes recurring stints on Battlestar Galactica, Warehouse 13, White Collar, and Leverage, along with countless guest roles across a variety of genres. (The character Badger he played in two episodes of Firefly was apparently originally going to be played by the series creator, Joss Whedon.)

In the end Sheppard gave a heartfelt thanks to the fans and applauded their passion, even as he clearly enjoys poking fun at them. "The reason I do this," he said, "is to come here and annoy you."